I guess I do because the answers I read on here were very valuable to me when I was applying to units. Passing on the favor seems fair. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a ton of contacts already in who can help them out.
Ironically, given the title of this thread, one thing I wouldn't have had a clue on is the importance of visiting the squadron while applying. That's not a necessarily obvious thing to those coming from a non military background.

It definitely depends. You'll get more familiar with standups at IFT... but that's probably not something you want to waste a month of your life to learn, when plenty of people figure it out at UPT with little problem. If I was within a few hours of finishing my private, I'd get it, because not having to go to IFT will save you MONTHS of your life (sitting at UPT base waiting for IFT, IFT itself, sitting at your UPT base after getting back waiting for class to start).
If money is tight or you're more than a dozen hours away, I'd probably hold off.

Traditional drop nights have already started to go away from what I can tell. They're mixing and mingling classes together, whoever is close to dropping based on their place in the syllabus. Not sure if that's how it always was.
19-08 is the last official "class" at KCBM, should be dropping sometime around February.

You're likely in striking distance for fighters, finish your PPL and you'll likely be able to land some interviews provided you show up to the meet-and-greets and mesh well. But you'll be among the less well qualified candidates, at least on paper. Not insurmountable though, and potentially worth spending six months or so chasing that dream before switching to applying to heavies.
Get your PPL and you should get a call back from any heavy squadron you apply to (except McDill).

Competition for UPT slots with the Guard and Reserve is pretty minimal right now, people are getting hired by bomber squadrons with ~20 flight hours and a degree in zoology. But if you're set on fighters, a PPL is almost mandatory to be considered by them.

As far as I can tell, the FACT isn't pass-fail anymore. We still took it, and maybe because I'm auto T-1 tracked (Reserve) I missed the memo, but I didn't hear of anyone "failing" or not being allowed to track -38s. Maybe it's behind the scenes consideration for track select?

Question: I'm a reservist at UPT currently living in the dorms, getting BAH for my home location based upon still having a house there while I'm in training. My Guard friend here in the same situation isn't getting BAH, period, much less BAH for where he's paying a mortgage while in training. Does anyone know what reg is allowing me to do this, and if there's any reason it would/wouldn't apply to a Guard student? We're talking something like a $25k difference in pay over the course of UPT, for no reason I can figure.

Solo students are expected to either land the plane via normal overhead, or eject. No ELPs, and we don't practice them in the aircraft. Still have to know the details of an ELP for GK.
Instructors and some international students still do ELPs.